Hare's scheme
it would be great, but confined within bounds. Neither they, nor any
of the smaller knots, would be able to elect more members than in
proportion to the relative number of their adherents. The ticket
system in America operates under conditions the reverse of this. In
America electors vote for the party ticket, because the election
goes by a mere majority, and a vote for any one who is certain not
to obtain the majority is thrown away. But, on Mr. Hare's system, a
vote given to a person of known worth has almost as much chance of
obtaining its object as one given to a party candidate. It might be
hoped, therefore, that every Liberal or Conservative, who was anything
besides a Liberal or a Conservative- who had any preferences of his
own in addition to those of his party- would scratch through the names
of the more obscure and insignificant party candidates, and inscribe
in their stead some of the men who are an honour to the nation. And
the probability of this fact would operate as a strong inducement
with those who drew up the party lists not to confine themselves to
pledged party men, but to include along with these, in their
respective tickets, such of the national notabilities as were more in
sympathy with their side than with the opposite.
The real difficulty, for it is not to be dissembled that there is
a difficulty, is that the independent voters, those who are desirous
of voting for unpatronised persons of merit, would be apt to put
down the names of a few such persons, and to fill up the remainder
of their list with mere party candidates, thus helping to swell the
numbers against those by whom they would prefer to be represented.
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